Orion contains two very bright stars—the red supergiant star Betelgeuse and the blue-white giant Rigel.

Betelgeuse (pronounced beetle juice by most astronomers) derives its name from the Arabic phrase ibt al jauzah which means the armpit of the central one. It is 430 light-years distant and a whopping 55,000 times more luminous than our sun. Betelgeuse is also one of two stars you can see with your naked eye that are most likely to explode as supernovas. It could happen anytime within a few hundred thousand years from now. It could happen tonight…

The star marks the eastern shoulder of mighty Orion, the Hunter. Another name for Betelgeuse is Alpha Orionis, indicating it is the brightest star of Orion. However, Rigel (Beta Orionis) is actually brighter. The misclassification happened because Betelgeuse is a variable star—a star that changes brightness over time—and it was likely brighter than Rigel when Johannes Bayer originally categorized it.

On the western heel of Orion rests brilliant Rigel. In classical mythology, Rigel marks the spot where Scorpio, the Scorpion, stung Orion after a brief and fierce battle. Its Arabic name means the foot.

Even a low-power telescope should be able to resolve Rigel's companion, a fairly bright 7th-magnitude star.